NONE
Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.
NOT APPLICABLE
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the construction of multi-level homes and offices, in general, and to a covering for the protection of the between level stairs thereof, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known and understood, dropcloths are conventionally employed to protect finished or carpeted stairs during the construction of a multi-level home or office. Experience has shown, however, that such dropcloths are not only bulky and difficult to deploy (and thereafter fold for storage), but almost impossible to assure that they remain flat in place when positioned, so as to not present any hazard in tripping. Even when carefully smoothed, those types of dropcloths that are typically employed have been noted to absorb paints and other liquids to such an extent that such construction debris oftentimes bleeds through the material used, in staining the wood stairs or carpeting which is the purpose of the dropcloths to protect. As will be recognized by such workers in the construction industry as painters, carpenters and carpet installers, a further problem beyond all of this is the difficulty encountered in trying to gather for later storage such dropcloths once the job is finished. Specifically, in manufacture, they do not easily fold flat or allow for a simple carrying about; to the contrary, they are usually just crumbled up and-gathered in the workers"" arms, and just thrown into the bed of the pick-up truck, or into the rear of the van for use at a later jobsite.
As will be seen from the description that follows, these disadvantages and limitations attending the prior art are overcome through the collapsible stair cover of the invention which is exceedingly easy to deploy, opens substantially flat for use, and-folds to a small package for convenient storage. In fact, with the preferred embodiment to be described, a collapsible stair cover in this embodiment once deployed will be appreciated to cover a 13 step run of stairsxe2x80x94and is collapsible to a 4 inch thickness, some 10 inches wide and of some 30 inches long. In this embodiment, a 20 foot length of 3 mm thick clear plastic is employed as the covering material, with a plurality of individually spaced, step-upon cardboard surfaces and a plurality of individually spaced non-skid, non-slip surfaces glued to the opposite sides of the plastic covering material.
In accordance with a more generalized construction of the invention, the collapsible stair cover will be seen to generally employ-this length of stair covering material of a composition which is substantially impervious to liquid. A plurality of individually spaced, step-upon treads is secured to its top side, and a plurality of individually spaced non-skid, non-slip surfaces are secured to its under side. With the stair covering material having a resistive strength to withstand the weight of a person walking on it, and a flexibility to fold between adjacent ones of the individually spaced treads, the collapsible stair cover is of a fabrication to allow its being folded substantially flat. With individual ones of the non-skid, non-slip surfaces secured to underlie individual ones of the step-upon treads (and, preferably, with each of the non-skid, non-slip surfaces underlying each one of the step-upon treads), a construction is manufacturable which in use allows the cover to be opened up by a-worker standing at the top of a run of stairs, pulling the cover down the stairs to the bottom, which when followed by the worker""s walking back up the stairs essentially sets the cover in place, flat and ready for use. The non-skid, non-slip surface secured to the under side retains the cover in position on the stairs, and the step-upon tread provides a friction surface to the shoes in going up and down the stairs to begin with.
When used as a cover for the standard 13-step flight of stairs, a preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes treads spaced some 9 inches apart from one another, and of somewhat greater lengths and widths than those for the underlying non-skid, non-slip surfaces, although such relative dimensions can, of course, be varied.